‘A Quiet Place Part II’ Review
I'm having trouble deciding how I'm going to review A Quiet Place Part II. On the one hand, it's an intense, expertly-paced action film bolstered by solid set pieces and performances. But it's also weighed down by many of the issues I had with the previous movie: goofy video game monsters, a lack of conflict between characters, that stupid baby. These things still bug me, but they're not worth getting upset over at this point. I'll most likely have the same complaints about the inevitable third film in this series, so I don't know if I should count them against this one in particular. Can you really hold a grudge against a movie for following a successful, proven formula?
After finishing off a handful of the hearing-sensitive aliens that have ravaged their world, Evelyn (Emily Blunt) grabs her children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe), and the baby (baby), and abandons their compromised farmhouse. Armed with the high-frequency noise that leaves the creatures vulnerable to attack, the family forges into an empty, dangerous wilderness. They find shelter when they cross paths with an old family friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), but Regan soon discovers a map leading to an abandoned radio tower. Determined to share the secret to defeating the creatures with the rest of the world, she and Emmett make their way to the tower and take on threats both human and alien.
Right off the bat, A Quiet Place Part II rewards viewers with a fantastic opening sequence, flashing back to the day of the alien invasion. The film does an excellent job making every slight, ordinary sound feel loud and dangerous. You know that the threat is imminent, and every noise cranks your anxiety up to an unbearable level, and just when you think you can't take it anymore, the film drops the other shoe. The sound design and the long takes are so well-executed, and they put us right there with the family as they scramble to survive in the chaos. This opening reminds us of what makes this series compelling: expertly crafted action set pieces that know when to recede and ramp back up.
The film maintains this same pace throughout its runtime. It keeps its quiet moments compelling with good character interactions, and the scares are less predictable than those you'd find in an average horror film. Several of the film's best sequences are a direct result of switching to Regan's perspective as she's lost in a chaotic, soundless environment. As someone who finds the aliens too excessive to be scary, watching them creep silently around in the background makes them far more frightening.
Once again, the cast does an excellent job selling the sign language and holding the viewer's attention in scenes with minimal spoken dialogue. Millicent Simmonds stands out as the most compelling actor in the film. She was an excellent discovery in A Quiet Place and is the driving force behind the A story in this film. Naturally, the young deaf actress is the most comfortable with ASL, but her most captivating moments are when she communicates with Cillian Murphy through lip reading. She demonstrates Regan's conviction and patience as the young girl convinces the lone wolf Emmett to go along with her plan.
Cillian Murphy is an excellent addition to the cast in what feels like a nod to his role in 28 Days Later. He brings the grit and darkness necessary for someone who's lost everything and seen the worst of humanity. It was a smart move on Krasinki's part to remove himself from the story and insert a different male lead in his place. One of my complaints with A Quiet Place is the distracting celebrity couple at the center, and Murphy brings a different kind of energy that gives this film more of an edge over the first one. The majority of the compelling drama revolves around the dynamic between Emmett and Regan, bringing something like The Last of Us to mind where you have a gruff adult male paired with a scrappy young girl. If you're going to steal, steal from the best!
But taking inspiration from popular media isn't the only thing A Quiet Place Part II succeeds in doing. It does what every good sequel should do and fleshes out the universe established in the first film. The film shows the audience more of the world outside the farmhouse, which by extension, gives us a clearer look at what the apocalypse has done to humanity. In this respect, A Quiet Place Part II is essentially a zombie movie.
If that's a big red flag for you like it usually is for me, don't let it scare you away. The central concept of staying silent to survive prevents the film from falling victim to the stale tropes of zombie media. We've seen cannibalistic humans, tortured loners, and hidden thriving communities countless times on The Walking Dead, and if you've become a trope on that show, you're well past your expiration date. A Quiet Place Part II has these same elements, but it never lingers on any of them for too long. It introduces them, establishes their place in this world, and mercifully moves onto the next thing.
Where the film falls short for me is its refusal to explore the moral consequences of a post-apocalyptic world. Much like the first film, A Quiet Place Part II barely scratches the surface of interpersonal conflict. The most friction we get between characters is when Regan calls the cynical recluse Emmett out for his selfishness early in the film. It serves its purpose in the story, spurring Emmett into joining Regan on her mission. But it signifies that Krasinski isn't interested in exploring the true darkness of this broken world. The story doesn't need to sink to It Comes at Night levels of moral depravity, but the film could reach greater heights if it were more willing to delve into the grey areas of humanity.
The film is much more interested in external conflicts than internal ones. We need to get from A to B to do something, and once we've done it, the movie is over. No reflections from the characters, no reconciliations, just a completion of the main quest.
I honestly think these stories would make better video games than movies. The film's plot already feels like an objective in The Last of Us, and the aliens look like they're straight out of Gears of War. Imagine how cool the mechanics would be in a game where you have to make as little noise as possible? Seriously, A Quiet Place is a video game tie-in we desperately need!
One place where the film could draw out some compelling conflict is with the baby. It's a burden on the family, as they have to keep it in a soundproofed box and use an oxygen tank to sedate it. Its presence leads to several instances where the characters nearly die, which should create a clash between Emmett and the family.
But like A Quiet Place, this film refuses to make a big deal out of the most gaping plot hole of the past decade. While it's not as annoying a logic error as in the first film, it still serves as a perfect example of what's holding this series back from being great. If we had just gotten one "what were you thinking?" comment from Emmet, that would have been enough. But no, every character just accepts that it was perfectly reasonable to bring a living scream machine into this world where the slightest noise means death. I'm not advocating for infanticide, but if the film had simply addressed the consequences and moral dilemmas that would result from such an irrational decision, I'd accept it.
But again, Krasinski isn't interested in exploring those themes, and I doubt he'll address them in the third film. He's more concerned with making great setpieces and showing a family unit staying strong against all odds. It's a wholesome and optimistic approach to telling this kind of story, and sometimes I feel like a grouch complaining about it.
In the end, I can't be mad at these films. They may be a bit sanitized and don't dig deep enough for my tastes, but I can't deny the craft at work here. If Krasinski wants to make five more of these movies without ever addressing how this world affects these characters' mental health, I'll keep coming back if they're as entertaining as A Quiet Place Part II.
★★★½